Emerald Fire
by Miss Riddle
Summary: Severus hasn't received any valentines. At least, not until Lily steps in. One shot, somewhat fluff.


Her green eyes were at it again.

That look that I could not resist, even if I had wanted to. The look that would have me on my knees in front of her (even literately, sometimes) in a matter of seconds, willing to do her each and every command. Of course, she never commanded anything, never asked anything of me at all, as her heart was as pure and kind as those emerald orbs. Never the less, it was rather apparent that she was my Queen, whether she actually meant to be or not.

We were sitting in an abandoned classroom somewhere on the third floor; Lily and I. She was reading a muggle novel and I was pretending to study, but as usual, staring at her was more entertaining. She would look up every so often, eyes meeting mine. A smile would touch her lips, but not those eyes, and that's how I knew that something was off. I always knew. I mean, I stared at her enough to have every expression memorized by the end of first year (I realize how creepy that sounds, yes). Most people would have asked her exactly what was wrong by this point, but I knew better. Lily would talk when she wanted, and not a moment before. Forcing an answer out of her is about equivalent to forcing Potter to bow down at my feet. In other words, you'd probably receive a lot of nasty hexes and a few broken bones in the process.

"Sev, do you have a moment?"

Those were the words I had been waiting for all evening. And what a silly question, too. Of course I had a moment; I always had a moment for her. I could be in the middle of a life and death wizard duel, and I would still have a moment. Although I did realize what a creeper I would sound like if actually told her that, so I settled for a simple 'yes'. I closed the book I wasn't reading as she shifted closer to me on the rotten teacher's desk we were using for a chair.

"So, you remember Lucas, right?"

"Yeah, I remember him." Of _course_ I remembered who her boy toy of the month was. Remembered him so well that I could tell you his class schedule and that he was allergic to orange juice. It was very vital to keep track of your competition, after all.

Not that I had any chance, but sometimes it's better to lie to yourself.

"Well…he broke up with me today." She tone was strangely apathetic. Her eyes were no longer on me, however, but the dirty floor which was spattered with what looked like potion remains.

To be honest, I was completely shocked. I think my heart might have stopped a little (No, seriously). Lily was always the heart breaker in her relationships. ALWAYS. This had to be the first boy that had ever dared to reject the prettiest girl in Hogwarts. He had to be bat shit insane; there was no other excuse.

"I knew he was a bloody idiot".

Okay, I realized that came out wrong. I meant to say something comforting and sympathetic, but even I have problems controlling myself sometimes. I could have said much worse. _Much_ worse. By the giggle I received, however, I guessed that I hadn't fucked up too much.

"I guess I just never expected to be rejected by anyone. It's not exactly pleasant, you know?" But she was smiling again, meaning that she would be totally over Lucas by Friday.

"You get used to it after a while." She made a face at this. "Trust me, I would know. You are talking to the poster child for rejection, remember?" I looked away for a moment, trying my hardest to not let my own words sink in. There was suddenly a hand on my chin, pulling my face up to face her again. Her green eyes were so close that my coordination skills became that of about a paraplegic.

"Oh come on Sev, you are not a reject. And anyone who says otherwise is, well, a bloody idiot". Her breath was all over my neck in a way that made me bite firmly down on my bottom lip.

"Well, then you are calling the entirety of the universe a bloody idiot." Yeah, I was whining now. But I couldn't help it, and it _was _true. Besides, maybe if I played this the right way, she would put her arm around me or something. (Yes, I really am that desperate). She rolled her eyes. I knew she would. Although she was still smiling, so perhaps my plan would work after all. Not that it was much of a plan in the first place, however, but even I can have some hope sometimes, right?

"Seriously, Lil. It's Valentines Day, and how many valentines did you get?" She shifted nervously a bit; as I'm sure Lily knew exactly where I was going with this. Apparently she thought dragging her answer out for a moment or so would make it hurt a little less.

"Well, I might have gotten a few." I knew that she had received more than a few. Almost every boy, no matter the year or house, wanted Lily for themselves. "I liked yours the best, though."

I admit, that made me grin like a school girl. Of course, I had found a way to leave the valentine waiting for her on her pillow when she woke up this morning. (Don't ask me how I managed to get into the Gryffindor girl's dorms; it's complicated and rather embarrassing.) There was the chance that she was just trying to make me feel a bit better about my shitty self, but Lily is usually pretty honest. Since I wasn't sure exactly how to respond that (flattery always leaves me a bit tongue tied…), I was relieved when she broke the silence. "And by the way, it's not true, I know you got at least one valentine".

I'm sure my expression was priceless here; some kind of mix of suspicion and confusion. "I'm pretty sure I didn't Lily, I'm-"

"I think you need to check your bag." She cut me off, nudging my bag, which was on the tiled floor, towards me with one of her dangling feet. I raised one dark eyebrow at her in an unbelieving manner, but bent down to grab my bag anyway. To my amazement, inside my bag, in between a beat-up potions book and a container of dragon heartstring was a sealed, pink envelope. I pushed the bag back on the ground (it made quite the bang, my potions book was monstrous) and simply stared at the envelope for a few seconds.

"Well open it, silly." I obviously took the command, carefully breaking the seal, aware that she was watching me intently. I captiously removed the card. Needless to say, I was suspicious and half expected a howler or something even viler to pop out of the envelope. I mean, who in their right mind would give a valentine to me, anyway?

I understood, however, as soon as I saw the writing on the card. I could have recognized her loopy, overly large writing any day. My jaw fell open right on cue.

_Dear Severus, _

_I hope this isn't the only valentine you receive today. If so, it is obvious that the female population of this school cannot recognize an amazing boy when they see one. I, however, can. You're the best friend anyone could ever have, and no matter what happens, I know we'll always be together. Always. _

_Love, _

_Lily_

I was trying really hard to not hyperventilate.

"You might want to close your mouth; Merlin knows what might fly in."

Oops, I had forgotten about that, the letter had put me in a state of shock. True, it was not a confession of love, and true, it wasn't everything I wanted. But it was a start. Perhaps it was enough, for now. (If you haven't figured it out by this point, I'm madly in love with this girl). I took a little chance of carefully put an arm around her. Surprisingly, she didn't resist. She actually moved closer to me, so I could feel the heat of her slender body against mine. (This is the point where I started cursing my teenage hormones and tried to picture the ugliest thing I had ever seen…Potter's face).

"Thank you, Lily". At this point, I really didn't know what else to say. Oh, besides the fact that she was the most amazing girl ever to walk the earth and that she was the only person I could ever love, but again with the whole 'sounding like a creeper' thing.

"I…I wanted to say something better, but I guess I didn't think, well, that it was a good idea." She bit her lip, laying her head on my shoulder in a way that made her red hair fall across my black shirt like liquid flames. I held her tighter, and secretly wondered what the hell I was doing, because this was just going to make everything ten times worse. For me, anyway.

Her statement had confused me again, however, so I definitely had to inquire. "What do you mean, you didn't think it was a good idea?"

"I just…" She was looking for the right words, something that she rarely needs to do. "I just didn't know how you would react, or if I even should…oh, I'm saying too much already."

Was that a blush across her freckled cheeks? I was really confused now, which is something that doesn't happen often (being the genius I am, and all). If it was anyone else, I would have grown frustrated with them long ago, but this was Lily, and growing frustrated with her was impossible "You know you can tell me anything, Lily. Even if you think I don't want to hear it." That was the absolute truth. She could have told me to kill myself, and I would have still loved her. And would probably kill myself, too, just because she said so.

"I know Severus, but this is different. I have a wonderful, amazing friendship with you, and I don't want to, well, ruin it. I just think that maybe, I don't know, maybe its better…"

I think I was just daft this evening, but I was honestly and completely lost. I remained silent for the moment, and dared to push a strand of hair out her eyes. She shivered. I finally spoke, unsure of what exactly she expected me to say. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want. If it doesn't matter that much…"

"Oh my god Severus, you don't get it, do you?"

"Um, sorry, I don't". I looked away, taking my arm off her, frustrated with myself.

She sighed once, before putting both hands on the back of my head and pulling my face towards hers until our lips met.

I'm _positive_ my heart stopped this time. It was such a quick movement on her part that I didn't have time to register what had happened until she let go and pulled away. It was the tingling on my lips that finally alerted me of the fact that Lily Evans just _kissed _me. The room had suddenly started to spin, and I had to steady myself with my hands so that I didn't fall off the desk.

"I know I've had a lot of boyfriends, Severus, but have you ever wondered why they don't last? Why they don't really seem to matter? Well, I wondered too, honestly. Then, one day, I finally understood." Her eyes were a blazing emerald fire. "I didn't care about them because I'm already in love with someone else. With _you_, Severus. I was just afraid that you wouldn't feel-"

For once, I was the one to interrupt. If shoving her onto her back across the desk and kissing her so hard my lip bled counts as an interruption, that is. She kissed me back, just as hard, fingers tangling into my hair.

There was a point where I (unfortunately) had to pause and catch my breath, although I kept her pinned under me, considering she didn't seem to mind. Her eyes were burning more intensely than all the stars in the sky. My voice was shaky for obvious reasons, but I managed well enough.

"I love you too, Lily Evans."

End

_Copyright A. M. Riddle, 2008_


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